Siphon priming means



April 15 58 v w. MILLER 2,830,608

SIPHON PRIMING MEANS Filed Nov. 4. 1954 INVENTOR MAL/4M M/LLH? h BY .Jz:.%ww

ATTO RN EY 2,830,698 SIPHON PRIMING MEANS William Miller, New York, N. Y. Application November 4, 1954, Serial No. 466,789 Claims. (Cl. 137-148) An object of the present invention is to provide a simple means for priming a siphon which will nevertheless enable a sturdy, enduring and efiiciently operable construction.

Another object thereof is the provision of such priming means adaptable to forms which may be manually or power operated.

These and other objects are achieved by the present invention which in its preferred form comprises a base chamber in one wall of which there is mounted an inwardly opening check valve, said chamber being in communication at the top thereof with a barrel of lesser diameter, there being fitted in said barrel for reciprocal motion a piston, water-tightly engaging the walls thereof by a flexible packing, and a piston rod connected at one end to said piston and at the other to a handle, a fitting suitable for connecting to a siphon being mounted through one wall of said base chamber.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the present invention may be had by referring to the following expanded description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments thereof, it being understood that the foregoing statement of the objects of the subject invention and the brief summary thereof are intended to generally explain the same without limiting it in any manner.

Fig. 1 is a generalized view of the present invention shown attached to a siphon hose extending between a higher and lower pool of water.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational view of said invention the upper portion of the piston rod being omitted.

Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view of another embodiment thereof. Fig. 4 is a similar sectional view of another form.

Referring to the drawings, and in particular to the preferred form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the present invention comprises an enclosed base chamber 10,preferably of circular cross-section, in one side wall of which there is mounted an inwardly opening check valve 11, and in the top wall of which is located a hose fitting 12, the center of said top wall opening into a barrel 13, likewise preferably of circular cross-section. A piston 14 is fitted into chamber 10, the engagement being made watertight by means of flexible packing 15. A piston rod 16 is connected at one end to piston 14 and at the other to a transversely extending handle 17. The upper or free end of barrel 13 contains no stufiing and is open, providing an inlet to said barrel. To fitting 12 there may be attached a flexible hose 18, the free end of which terminates in a petcock or valve 19. Chamber 10 and barrel 13 may be made of bronze and packing 15 may be a rubber ring- As illustrated in Fig. l, the form therein shown, with out piston 14,,rod 16 and handle 17, is intended to be immersed in water so that if desired, barrel 13 may fill with water when the device is placed at the bottom of a pool 20 of water. Then a user may fit the piston assembly in barrel 13, as shown in Fig. 2, and by pressing 2,830,608 Patented Apr. 15, 1958 downward and causing piston barrel 13 in turn cause a volume of water equal to that within barrel 13 to be forced into siphon or flexible hose 18 and hence prime said siphon. It is assumed, of course, that hose 18 is positioned to permit siphon action, i. e. have a short leg in direct communication with the priming source and a larger leg extending downward from the highest point of said hose to a point below the level of said source. These conditions are fulfilled in Fig. 1 wherein pool 20 of water (specifically fitting 12) lies higher than pool 21 of water (specificaly the end of or nozzle of valve 19) whereby the water in the short arm 22 of hose 18 is pulled into long arm 23 and then falls out of said long arm into pool 21 of water. Of course in order to complete the usual priming action, i. e. completely fill hose 18 by one downward stroke of piston 14, the volume of barrel 13 must be sufiicient to cause enough water or other liquid to flow into hose 18 to create a remote longer leg of water or other liquid, i. e. it would not be necessary to completely fill said hose but merely to pass enough liquid into the remote leg (over the high point) to cause it to exceed in length the near leg (proximate the source). Once piston 14 completes its action or downward stroke by passing beyond the lower end of barrel 13 into base chamber 10, siphon action established in hose 18 is effective to continue to draw water through the top opening in saidbarrel into said chamber and through said hose. After the pumping action has proceeded sufiiciently to prime the siphon (i. e. piston 14 reaches the lower end of barrel 13), piston 14 enters the broader base chamber and water from the inlet (open end) of barrel 13 may then freely flow past said piston into hose 18.

Check valve 11 comes into play when it is desired to remove piston 14 from chamber 10 and barrel 13. As

the piston is pulled upward, the resulting suction opens said valve and thus facilitates (by decreasing the pressure), the upward travel of said piston. Of course, said valve need not be a check valve, but a manually operated valve could be used. Again, a valve could be dispensed with if enough force were available to pull up piston 14 against the siphon water pressure.

The mode of initiating the priming action may be changed if it is more convenient to immerse the device with piston 14 in barrel 13. In such case said piston is first placed in base chamber 10 and then the device is submerged, liquid filling barrel 13 and base chamber 10. Hose 18 may be closed. Piston 14 is elevated drawing water through check valve 11 into barrel 13 behind the rising piston. Then when piston 14 is depressed after hose 18 is opened, the liquid so drawn in is forced into said hose to prime the siphon.

Fig. 3 illustrates another form which is particularly adapted for motor drive. Base chamber-10, check valve 11, and hose fitting 12 remain the same, as does barrel 13, except that it has an inlet aperture 24 located in one of its walls beneath the uppermost rest position of piston 14', which is retained in said barrelby an inward turned detent flange 25 at the top of barrel 13'. A guide bar 26, coaxially located with respect to barrel 13', is secured at its bottom to the inside of the lower wall of base chamber 12. Piston 14 is centrally apertured to receive guide bar 26, and a ring 27 of flexible packing is set within a marginal recess in said aperture in piston 14 so as to maintain a liquid-tight seal between said piston and bar. As in the previous embodiment, similar flexible packing 15 is set in the peripheral margin of piston 14' to make a liquid-tight seal between the outer edges of the piston and barrel 13'. A rack 27 is fixedly secured to the upper surface of piston 14 and is driven so as to move reciprocally by a pinion attached to a source of power not shown. This form may be used where it is 14' to travel the length of desired to have the device extend above the level of pool 20 of water in order to give more easy access thereto. Its operation is the same as the operation in the previous form except that in the particular embodiment shown piston 14' cannot be removed from barrel 13'. pocket of air shown between piston 14' and the water level of pool 20 within barrel 13 does not impedethe operation of the device but merely reduces the starting force necessary to operate the device, since substantially all of the air is expanding through inlet aperture 24 on the downward stroke of piston 14.

The form shown in Fig. 4 differs from the form in Fig. 1 in that barrel 13 is extended into base chamber the portion lying within said base chamber having perforationsZS. In this form the piston is guided by the walls of the barrel throughout the length of its course so that at no time is the piston displaceable laterally. The advantage to this form is that the piston need not be fitted to the lower lip of the barrel when it is withdrawn into the barrel. Otherwise the device operates precisely as does the previous forms, perforations 28 being sufficient in number and extent to approach a free path for liquid in the base chamber.

' Although the subject invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous additions and changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement may be resorted to without transcending the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for priming a siphon comprising an enclosed chamber including a barrel portion of substantially uniform diameter having an inlet opening therein and a base portion of greater diameter having an outlet opening in a wall thereof, and a piston slideably mounted for reciprocable travel in said chamber into said base portion, said piston being in liquid sealing relationship to the walls of said barrel portion, the dimension of the piston. in the direction of travel of said piston being less than the dimension of the base portion in said direction.

2. A device as described in claim 1, and means to reduce the pressure on said piston as it is moved in said barrel portion away from said base portion when the flow through said outlet is blocked.

3. A device as described in claim 1, said inlet opening extending over the entirefree end of said barrel portion.

4. A device for priming a siphon comprising an enclosed chamber including abarrel portion of substantially uniform diameter open at its free end and a base portion of greater diameter having valve-inlet and siphonoutlet openings therein, a valve closing said valve-inlet opening, and a piston slideably mounted for reciprocable travel in said chamber in liquid-sealing relationship to the walls of said barrel portion, the dimension of the piston in the direction of travel of said piston being less than the dimension of the base portion in said direction.

5. A device for priming a siphon comprising an enclosed chamber including a barrel portion of substantially uniform diameter open at its free end, and a base portion of greater diameter, having valve-inlet and siphonoutlet openings therein, a piston mounted for reciprocable motion in said chamber in liquid-sealing relation to the walls of said barrel portion so as to be thrust toward and The I into said base portion on a work stroke and returnable to said barrel portion on a return stroke the dimension of the piston in the direction of travel of said piston being less than the dimension of the base portion in said direction, an inwardly opening check valve closing said valve-inlet opening and means at said outlet opening to which a siphon may be connected.

6. A device for priming a siphon comprising an enclosed chamber including a barrel portion of substantially uniform diameter having an inlet opening therein and a base portion of greater diameter having a siphon opening therein, a guide bar extending substantially the length of said chamber mounted therein coaxially with said barrel portion and atfixed to the bottom wall of said base portion, a piston having an aperture of dimensions corresponding to the transverse dimensions of said guide bar mounted for slideable reciprocable motion along said bar and in said chamber in liquid-sealing relation to the walls of said bar and said chamber along the barrel portion thereof, the dimension of the piston in the direction of travel of said piston being less than the dimension of the base portion in said direction, whereby said piston is thrust toward and into said base portion on a work stroke and returnable to said barrel portion on a return stroke.

7. A device as described in claim 6, said base portion having a valve opening therein in a wall thereof, an inwardly opening check valve closing said valve opening and means at said outlet opening to which a siphon may be connected.

8. A device as described in claim 1, said barrel portion extending into said base portion, the walls of said barrel portion within said base portion having openings therein.

9. A device as described in claim 4, said barrel portion extending into said base portion, the walls of said barrel portion within said base portion having openings therein.

10. A device for priming a siphon comprising an enclosed chamber including a barrel portion of substantially uniform diameter open at its free end, and a base portion of greater diameter, having valve-inlet and siphonoutlet openings therein, said barrel portion extending into said base portion, the walls of said barrel portion within said base portion having openings therein, a piston mounted for reciprocable motion in said chamber in liquidsealing relation to the walls of said barrel portion the dimension of the piston in the direction of travel of said piston being less than the dimension of the base portion in said direction, said piston being thrust toward and into said base portion on a work stroke and away from said base portion on a return stroke, an inwardly opening check valve closing said valve-inlet opening and means at said outlet opening to which a siphon may be connected.

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 503,232 Franklin Aug. 15, 1893 895,694 Silverberg Aug. 11, 1908 1,440,706 Taylor Jan. 2, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,347 Great Britain 1893 

